Israel's largest distributor of refined oil products announced Wednesday it was spinning off its money-losing refinery business which dragged the company into a loss in the second quarter.
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Paz Oil, which supplies a third of Israel's fuel products, said it was splitting the company into two, with its Ashdod refinery being moved to a separate unit which will also be publicly traded in Tel Aviv.
The company said it slumped to an adjusted 35 million shekels ($11 million) in the quarter, versus a net profit of 8 million a year before. Excluding its refinery business, it said it would have earned NIS 51 million ($16 million).
Paz Oil said the aim of the split was to boost the company's focus on the "core activities of retail and services, such as accelerated growth in convenience and food retail and entering city centers, entering the world of power supply ... and establishing an electric charging network."
